A fantastic collection that looks at the relationship between American soul and reggae in a very unique way – not the early crossovers of soul and rocksteady in the 60s, but a big wave of disco-inspired sounds in the 70s! The set brings together some great Jamaican and British versions of American club tracks from the late 70s and early 80s, plus some soul cuts from earlier years – often done with rhythms that are slower and more bad-stepping, in a true reggae mode – but with songs and lyrics that are lifted right from bit hits by artists like Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and others! The mix of modes is wonderful – and maybe comes across even better than on some of the Afro disco records of the period – thanks to a great track selection, in the usual Soul Jazz standard. Titles include "I'm Every Woman" by Latisha, "In The Rain" by rRnest Ranglin, "Reggae Beat Goes On" by Family Choice, "Ring My Bell" by Blood Sisters, "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by Derrick Laro & Trinity, "Do It Nice & Easy" by Chariot Riders, "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" by Black Harmony, "Upside Down" by Carol Cool, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Sharon Forrester, "Rappers Delight" by Xanadu & Sweet Lady, "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" by Risco Connection, "Am I The Same Girl" by Charmaine Burnette, and "Be Thankful For What You Got" by One Blood. (Reggae, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection of jazzy groovers – one that effortlessly combines older material and newer recordings, all with a great ear that never tires in its pursuit of the groove! The blend of old and new is a bit like some of the collections we used to love from Gilles Peterson back in the last century – but Paul Murphy definitely has his own style and way of choosing a tune, and like Peterson, he has a great way of setting a new sort of fire with jazz – one that will burn strongly for generations to come! Titles include "Yatra-Ta" by Terje Terasmaa, "African Mailman" by Rhythmagic Orchestra, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Blue Mode, "Foot In The Door" by Onward International, "Zombie" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Emnete (live)" by Imperial Tiger Orchestra, "4 Beat Cha Cha Cha" by Lucas Van Merwijk & His Cubop City Big Band, "Tribute To Mulatu" by Patchworks, "Koumba Fri Fri" by Mamelon, "Sorrow Tears & Blood" by Shola Adisa Farrar & Florian Pellissier Quartet, and "Mambo De La Pinta" by Art Pepper. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic companion to the book of the same name by author Tim Lawrence – the excellent Life & Death On The New York Dance Floor – which explores all the cool strands of funky punk, avant rock, and arty grooves that exploded on the New York scene after the decline of disco! Some of this work might fall into the post-disco side of the spectrum, other cuts are maybe a bit more post-punk – and together, they represent a really fantastic wellspring of new creativity – at levels that were years ahead of their time! Titles on this first volume include "Desire" by Tuxedomoon, "Drum Mode" by Gray, "Saturn Drive" by Alan Vega, "Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)" by Johnny Dynell & New York 88, "Big Business (dance mix)" by David Byrne, "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee Vs K-Rob, "Hold Up" by 3 Teens Kill 4, and "Go Bang (LP version)" by Dinosaur L. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive batch of rare club tracks unearthed by Chicago's Past Due label, packaged together wonderfully as a document of a lost side of soul and disco! So far, Past Due's efforts have only surfaced as expensive 12" singles – so this collection is the first full length set to showcase the label's music – a treasure trove of under-discovered gems from the indie soul underground of the late 70s and early 80s! The music is to the far left of some of the better-known club work from the east coast of the time – including that of P&P Records – and most cuts here almost fall more in the upbeat funk mode than conventional disco grooves you'd find on bigger labels. Most numbers groove along in a wave of bumping bass, sweet keyboards, and other hip instrumental touches – and vocals are usually deep and soulful, much more so than in ordinary club. Titles include "Galaxy" by Visions Of Tomorrow, "Midnight Rhythm" by The Right Direction, "The Heat Is On" by Lonnie Givens, "Get Up Get Down & Let Your Body Pop" by Greyship Daviz, "Dance" by Destiny In Time Band, "Party" by Monofide, "Kiss You Everywhere" and "You Are Number One" by Devarne, "You Bring Out The Best In Me" by Destiny In Time, and "If You Like What We're Doing" by The Fabulous Kings. LP, Vinyl record album

A dream come true! Someone at Blue Note is keeping their eyes and ears on the street and in the clubs – because here's another late model conceptual triumph – a remix project pairing current innovators in the club and hip hop underground with classic numbers from the label's vaults! The concept is simple; classic numbers are given to handpicked remixers, re-doers, and stylistic misfits best suited to re-work that particular number. Mo Wax maestros La Funk Mob open the set with a mellow, club soul tweak of Wayne Shorter's "Oriental Funk Song". Kenny Dope trips out Bobby Hutcherson's "La Malanga" into a bubbly club funk jam. "Kyoto Jazz Massive" completely re-work Eddie Henderson's "Kudu" into a wonderful number all their own. Perhaps the biggest triumph of all here is the consistency throughout; every artist attached brings their A-game (how could they do any less, given a chance to add their own elements to the some of the most influential numbers they could get their hands on?) Amazing, amazing stuff – whether it's the scratched up, hip hop flavor J Dilla brings to Jack McDuff's "Oblighetto" or the righteous electronic groove Jazzanova drops on Eddie Gale's "Song Of The Will", the minimalist, keys and beats drive Osunlade brings into Grant Green's "A Time To Remember". Every track sparkles! Other tracks include DJ Spinna/Donald Byrd "Lansanna's Priestess", 4 Hero/Horace Silver "Won't You Open Up Your Senses", DJ Cam & Erik Truffaz/Donald Byrd "The Emperor", Herbert/Michel Petrucciani "Caravan" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A great set that moves towards the farther reaches of the Caribbean scene in the 80s – music that's much more underground than some of the bigger soca and tropical hits of the time! As you might expect from the Soundway label, the work here is a very unusual, very well-done presentation of a fresh slice of global music – Caribbean cuts that borrow bits from electro soul, house music, and other styles of the time – and weave the newer elements into island rhythms with a very forward-thinking feel! The tunes are heavy on keyboards and beats, yet still have a indie soul sort of charm – and as usual with Soundway, the whole thing comes with very detailed notes on the music. Most tunes are b-sides, dubs, or edits – and titles include "Last Days" by The Millers, "Wild Indian Band" by Andre Tanker, "Zion Gates (dub)" by Mohjah, "I Want Your Love" by Peter Britto, "Hotter & Hotter (dub edit)" by Juno D, "D'Jab Jab Dance (bad lad mix)" by Colin Jackman, "Fighting Soldier" by Cito Jarvis, "Stand Up & Rock Your Body (inst)" by Roger Bain, "Fire (ext dub edit)" by D Ivan, "Body Beat" by Bill Campbell, and "It's Alright" by Adonijah. (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Philly soul at its finest – served up here in a collection that brings together classics from the Philadelphia International label, plus some nicely overlooked cuts! Most of the music here comes from the world of Gamble & Huff – that legendary production duo who helped take soul music into sophisticated territory after the 60s – and although the set's got some upbeat groovers, most of the music here is in the mellower or midtempo sound of Philly – and has less of the disco modes of the bigger crossover hits. Japanese soul expert Hiroshi Nagai selected the tracks – and titles include "Tell The World How I Feel About Cha Baby" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, "Always Room For One More" by McFadden & Whitehead, "One Day Of Peace" by Love Committee, "Mysteries Of The World" by MFSB, "Hey Baby" by Anthony White, "A Nice Girl Like You" by the Intruders, "Lady In Red" by Ronnie Dyson, "City Of Brotherly Love" by Soul Survivors, "Where Did All The Lovin Go" by Teddy Pendergrass, "Was That All It Was" by Jean Carn, "The Sweetest Pain" by Dexter Wansel, and "Put Our Heads Together" by The O'Jays. LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant funky instrumentals from the UK Cavendish Sound Library – a company who could sometimes recorded more staid music, although that certainly wasn't the case with the gems on this collection! The music is by a handful of British studio talents of the time – most of whom come from the jazz scene in earlier years – and provide a great update of their earlier talents with some very sweet electric touches! Many of these tunes have some really great keyboards – Fender Rhodes or even moogier elements – and many also have wicked basslines next to the funky drums, which really make things kick throughout. These tunes are vastly undiscovered – at least in comparison to better-known sound library funk from companies like KPM or DeWolfe – but we'd put these grooves right up there with the best of that bunch too. Titles include "Night Shade", "The Rally", "Southbound", "Snowmobile", "Night Driver", "The Trackers", and "Lady Killers" by Dennis Farnon; "Milky Way" and "Star Voyage" by John Scott; "Two Bars" and "The Scape Goat" by Pete Moore; "The Big Score" by John Cacavas, "One Way Trip" by Sam Fonteyn, "Smile Of A Stranger" by Dominic Sands, "Riff Raff" by Geoff Bastow, "Come Cuban" by Edward White, and "Kaleidoscope" by Tony Kinsey. (Sound Library, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Two albums' worth of tracks that set the Northern Soul scene on fire at the end of the 60s – American rare soul from back in the day, but tunes that were appreciated even more by the British soul audience – who helped some of these tracks achieve legendary status through their all-night action on the dancefloor! The tunes here are all upbeat, and most are from the late 60s or very start of the 70s – and while most numbers are tracks that first broke big back in the day, there are others here that show the evolving ear of the Northern Soul crowd – as they continue to dig for new and obscure tracks over the decades since they initially got started. The package features 28 tracks in all – and titles include "Walking Up A One Way Street" by Willie Tee, "What's Wrong With Me Baby" by The Invitations, "Open The Door To Your Heart" by Darrell Banks, "Go For Yourself" by Larry Lester, "Break Out" by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, "Dance Dance Dance" by The Casualeers, "Skiing In The Snow" by The Invitations, "No 1 In Your Heart" by Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers, "Some Kind Of Wonderful" by Soul Brothers Six, "You're Ready Now" by Frankie Valli, "Mean It Baby" by Carl Hall, "Bring Your Love Back To Me" by Linda Lynell, "I Just Can't Live My Life" by Linda Jones, "That's When The Tears Star" by The Blossoms, "Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield, "Tainted Love" by Gloria Jones, "Both Ends Up Against The Middle" by Jackie Moore, "Here I Go Again" by Archie Bell & The Drells, and "Something New To Do" by Bobby Sheen. (Soul, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A big collection of underground soul from the American scene of the late 60s – all brought together to show the sorts of grooves that kept on spinning strong all through the 70s, as part of the legendary All-Nighters scene at the UK's Wigan Casino! That bit of history aside, the music is more than great enough on its own – especially if you dig upbeat soul of the less-familiar variety – tracks that are rare, but put together with the same sort of top-shelf quality as the best of Motown or Atlantic Records at the time! Titles include "I Was Born To Love You" by Herbert Hunter, "Night Owl" by Bobby Paris, "What" by Judy Street, "I'm Comin Home In The Mornin" by Lou Pride, "Tear Stained Face" by Don Varner, "She'll Come Running Back" by Mel Britt, "Quick Change Artist" by The Soul Twins, "I Don't Like To Lose" by The Group featuring Cecil Washington, "If It's All The Same To You Babe" by Luther Ingram, "All Of My Life" by Detroit Soul, "Out Of My Mind" by Rain with Charity Brown, "It Hurts Me" by The Majestics, "Backfield In Motion" by Mel & Tim, and "Sidras Theme" by Ronnie & Robyn. (Soul, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

The second volume in this great series of classic 70s soul tracks – most of them with a deep underground sound, and nice little riffs and beats that have been sampled by hip hoppers over the years. Tracks are from a range of sources – and although some of the artists cut big singles in their day, most of these are more obscure numbers. Titles include "I Hear The Love Chimes" by Syl Johnson, "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" by Ann Peebles, "It's Over" by Eddie Holman, "Maybe Tomorrow" by Jackson 5, "Honey Bee" by The New Birth, "I Keep Asking You Questions" by Black Ivory, "Gone The Promises Of Yesterday" by The Mad Lads, "I Got The" by Labbi Siffre, "I've Been Watching You" by Southside Movement, "Why Marry" by The Sweet Inspirations, "You're Getting Too Smart" by The Detroit Emeralds, "Come Go With Me" by Teddy Pendergrass, and "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green. LP, Vinyl record album